Petrucci to attempt ‘the impossible’ from fifth row

On paper Danilo Petrucci’s tough MotoGP weekend at Motegi shows no signs of letting up, with the Italian stating he will need to “make the impossible” tomorrow from the fifth row of the grid after a disappointing qualifying.

Petrucci was unable to navigate his way through Q1 and will begin Sunday’s 24-lap race from 15^th place, his worst qualifying performance since Argentina, the second race weekend of the season.

But his showing in FP4, when he placed fifth, was of some relief, and leaves the Italian believing he can, at the very least, finish inside the top ten on Sunday.

“It has been a difficult weekend so far,” said Petrucci. “Yesterday we were a little bit in trouble. This morning I could manage, I could recover some speed. But when I tried to push I crashed and I lost the chance to go in directly to Q2.

“Anyway, in FP4 I was quite happy about the feeling of the bike. I was in fifth position with this tyre. I said, ‘OK, maybe we can do it.’ Then I made two mistakes at the two attempts in Q1.

“I thought it was better to take one lap and then improve. When I tried to push I always made a mistake. In the MotoGP of today even one tenth costs you the chance to pass to Q2.

“Anyway I was surprised because I was quite fast in FP4 and the feeling was better than ever. At this point we have to make the impossible tomorrow. Starting from the fifth row will be tough.

“I will try to get into the top ten. Unfortunately my target is for fifth place in the championship with both Johann and Cal. So I chose the wrong weekend to go a little bit lower but we will see tomorrow.”